Video: my life protecting the golden poison frog

Discover what it’s like to be the only person responsible for protecting a rare and deadly species in the wild, as it’s being driven towards extinction

Meet reserve ranger Venancio Flórez López, working in the Chocó Rainforest in western Colombia, to protect a healthy population of golden poison frog – one of the world’s most poisonous creatures

Timbiquí, a region in the Chocó Rainforest, is one of the poorest in Colombia. Until recently, it was plagued by armed conflict that reached a climax between 2008 and 2011 when the area became a hotbed of coca cultivation to produce cocaine.

This is Venancio’s home and where the only protected area for the Endangered golden poison frog can be found. The skin of this small, vibrant frog is drenched in enough poison to kill 10 people, but this incredible species was completely unprotected until Fundación ProAves created a protected reserve.

Although only in its early stages, the project aims to demonstrates that nature conservation and community development can create environmental and social change.